Kurogo, Traditional Japanese Theatricality: Izumi Ashizawa and “Kurogo Me Together!”

Nixon Theatre (Building no. 720) is located in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. (See below for detailed directions.)

“Kurogo” is a Japanese word for a stage figure dressed completely in black from head to toe. In Bunraku (traditional Japanese puppetry), kurogo means the black-clad puppeteers who animate puppets and handle the props/set; in Kabuki (traditional Japanese theatre), kurogo mainly serves as stagehands who help with costume changes and props. “Kuro” means dark. Kurogo is almost invisible against a black background. The constant stage presence of “invisible” kurogo challenges audience’s perception of (in)visibility and (non)existence and heightens theatricality. Some contemporary Western theatre directors also adopt/appropriate the kurogo technique in their experimental works.

For centuries, Bunraku and Kabuki only permitted men to participate, like in many theatre traditions. Izumi Ashizawa, a Japanese female performer and scholar, would like to challenge this. Her presentation at UCI will include a lecture on kurogo and a presentation of her work "Kurogo Me, Together!," which reframes the traditional Japanese theatre, video game avatar, and live participatory theatre. Q&A will follow her presentation.

Izumi Ashizawa is a performance and visual artist, born and trained in Tokyo. She received an MFA from Yale School of Drama and is Associate Professor of Performance Art and Devising Theatre in Art Department at SUNY Stony Brook. She has lectured and performed her work all over the world, including Japan, U.K., Canada, Turkey, Iran, Norway, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Australia, the Cayman Islands, Greece, Cyprus, Peru, Greenland, and the U.S.

CO-SPONSOR: Drama department

Directions to Nixon Theatre:

The closest public parking is the Mesa Parking Structure. From the third floor of the parking garage, cross the bridge over Mesa Road. Continue straight until you reach the Contemporary Arts Center. Turn right and follow the walkway alongside the building. Continue toward the Art Studio building, then follow the walkway around it toward the Sculpture and Ceramic Studios. Nixon Theatre is in Building 720, just behind the Art Studio building.

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